 Blue Ridge Farm Museum
First opened in 1979, the Blue Ridge
Farm Museum reflects the day-to-day lifestyle of prosperous German-American farmsteaders
in the Blue Ridge in the year 1800. Visitors may find costumed interpreters preparing
meals over the open hearth, baking bread in an outdoor bake oven, blacksmithing, or
carrying out other household and farm chores of the period.
In the gardens and around the farm buildings, heirloom vegetables and historic breeds of
sheep, chicken, horses, pigs, and cattle speak to the region's agricultural heritage.
(Click here to learn more about our rare
breeds). Through special participatory programs visitors can don Institute costumes and take part
in farm activities or try their hands at vintage crafts.
The Blue Ridge Farm Museum is open for walk-in visitors Saturdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
Sundays 1 to 5 p.m., mid-May through mid-August. Group tours are available by reservation
any day April through October. Admission is $4 for adults, $3 for children and senior
citizens.
Cost is $4.00 per person ($3.00 per
person for youth and senior citizen groups).
Group Tour Options
The Farmstead Tour
Costumed staff enrich group visits
to the Blue Ridge Farm Museum by providing guided tours of the site. The Farmstead Tour
usually lasts about 90 minutes.
Cost is $4.00 per person ($3.00 per person for youth and senior citizen groups).
The Cornbread Tour
Small groups of youngsters have the
option of enhancing their visit to the Farm Museum with the hands-on Cornbread Tour. As
part of their farm visit, the children work with our costumed interpreters mixing batter
and baking cornbread in an open-hearth Dutch oven. While the bread bakes, the youngsters
use an old-time churn to turn cream into butter.
The Cornbread Tour is approximately
2 hours in length. Cost is $6.00 per child.
(Note: This tour is limited to children between the ages of 5 and 9 in a group size of 10
or less.)
The Jack Tales Tour
Young and old alike will enjoy the
combination of old-time farm life, tales, and music presented in the Jack Tales Tour
package. The Jack Tales, featuring the exploits of a clever mountain boy, are some of
America's oldest folktales, and Ferrum College's Jack Tale Players are acclaimed for their
delightful dramatizations of these stories.
The Jack Tales Tour includes both
the Farmstead Tour (above) and the performance by The Jack Tales Players in nearby Sale
Theater. The combined activities last about 3 hours. Cost varies with group size; minimum
cost is $5 per person.
Day on the Farm
 The Day on the Farm offers an
unmatched hands-on experience, immersing visitors in the dress, work, and pleasures
associated with life on an 1800 Blue Ridge farmstead. Participants don the museum's period
costumes to join our own costumed staff in household, garden, and farm tasks of the times.
Using old-time recipes, participants work together to cook a meal over the open hearth and
to bake breads and desserts in the outdoor bake oven. Depending upon staff and season,
other activities may include spinning, weaving, blacksmithing, toy making, broom making,
needlework, and livestock care.
The Day on the Farm normally runs
about 4 hours. Cost is $16 per person. (Note: Day on the Farm group size is usually
limited to 8 to 12 visitors.)
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